Diesel exports to NATO forces in Afghanistan costing Pak exchequer millions of rupees
29 Jul 2008, 1332 Hrs

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Islamabad, July 29 (ANI): If sources in the Pakistan Petroleum Ministry are to be believed, the export of subsidised diesel for the consumption of NATO forces in Afghanistan and the fuel smuggling across the Pak-Afghan border were causing massive losses to the national exchequer and straining fuel supplies in Pakistan.

It has been learnt that Pakistan was losing around Rs 32.5 million daily due to such exports and smuggling.

A senior official in the ministry said that smugglers were also making windfall profits from smuggling diesel to Afghanistan, where it costs a whopping Rs 95 per litre.

According to him, around 15 percent of the diesel consumed in Pakistan was being smuggled to Afghanistan. During May to July around 82,492 metric tonnes were smuggled out to Afghanistan, the official said. Pakistan lost around Rs 3.4 billion due to smuggling in that period, the Daily Times quoted the official as saying.

In a letter to the petroleum and finance ministries and departments concerned, the Balochistan Frontier Corps (FC) inspector general (IG) has also reportedly warned that the export of subsidised oil to Afghanistan has significantly increased after May 21.

According to the letter, NATO contractors had increased diesel import from Pakistan from 17 tankers per day to 20, while the private contractors have hiked their imports from 14 to 22 tankers a day. NATO forces and private contractors are importing around 726,000 litres of subsidised diesel to Afghanistan every day, it said and added that Pakistan was losing around Rs 32.5 million daily due to such experts and smuggling. (ANI)